The Scene

Unfortunately, Counter-Strike has been and will continue to be a free-time activity in lieu of the more widely played MMORPG games here in Hong Kong. Locally produced MMORPG games attract such a huge audience in Hong Kong that there are yearly exhibitions at the convention center displaying the many characters and products from these games; more than 300,000 people would attend over a span of a week.

Although there were organizations such as the 'World Games Federation' that hosted the WCG Hong Kong qualifiers at these exhibitions in high hopes of drawing an audience for FPS games, the acceptance of such games is still yet to come, and probably won't appear until there is a rise in the cash prizes for local tournaments or tournaments in nearby countries.

Local Counter-Strike teams that actually strive to succeed are often struggling to find competition within their area. Often, the top teams consist of the same handful of players each time, only minorly adjusted. These teams, in need of more competition, get matches from across the border in China or seek out Taiwanese teams.

But communication is also an issue, as the only ways for teams to contact one another either locally or across borders is the use of programs such as ICQ or MSN. There does not exist anything similar to IRC where teams can simply enter scrim channels to find a game - the only way teams in Hong Kong get their scrims is through chat programs or online forums.

One of the best all time Counter-Strike player in Hong Kong, kron, is now here in Toronto Canada still playing actively but not as competitively. When compared to current CAL teams and players, we can all firmly agree that kron is at a high CAL-M, low CAL-P level. Judging by the lack of real competition kron had during his competitive CS days in Hong Kong, can we extrapolate on this and conclude how good some of these teams and players could be if given the chance to compete? Who knows...

The chance of Hong Kong Counter-Strike teams hitting international events is very minimal. Apart from the issue of cultural segregation of professional gaming and family values, the amount of competition available for teams that actually remove themselves from these straining norms is low. Unless China begins to host tournaments with large sums in prizes or until there is a general consensus to use a unified chatting system such as IRC, the possibility of Hong Kong entering the current Counter-Strike scene is near impossible. But, hey, anything can happen - especially in Hong Kong.

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Where To Next?

Ladies and Gentleman, strap on your seatbelts. It'll be a three hour flight from Hong Kong as we approach the land of Taiwan. Filled with history, controversy and political frenzy, you're in for a joy ride as we survey the country that may be home to the upcoming underdogs of the gaming scene.